Brazil's Lupatech to raise up to $383 mln in deal

JeffFick

RIO DE JANEIRO (MarketWatch) -- Brazilian oilfield-services company Lupatech SA (LUPAY, LUPA3.BR) said Sunday that it would raise much-needed capital through an investment agreement with the Brazilian National Development Bank, or BNDES, and local pension fund Petros.

Lupatech will raise as much as 700 million Brazilian reais ($383 million) through a private placement of new shares with investors, the company said in a filing with local stock regulators. The investment arm of BNDES, called BNDESpar, and Petros, the pension fund for workers at federal oil company Petroleo Brasileiro (PBR, PETR4.BR), or Petrobras, will buy up to BRL300 million of the shares, Lupatech said.

The oilfield-services company reported last week that it lost BRL241 million in 2011 and canceled an oilfield-services contract with key client Petrobras because of order delays. Lupatech has struggled under a heavy debt load after it boosted investment to meet expected demand from oil companies in need of offshore services.

Petrobras was forced to curtail offshore drilling last year because of delays in the delivery of new drilling rigs, leading to lower-than-expected production.

Intraday Data provided by SIX Financial Information and subject to terms of use.
Historical and current end-of-day data provided by SIX Financial Information.
All quotes are in local exchange time. Real-time last sale data for U.S. stock quotes reflect trades reported through Nasdaq only.
Intraday data delayed at least 15 minutes or per exchange requirements.